this is going to be a major undertaking. it has been discussed before. it won't be quick.

i'm going to update this thread with translated pages as i go along ...
Andy

PS: the format of the book is *huge*, the inside pages barely fit on my Scanner, but i had to "tile" the cover and back.

PPS: i *do* have really high res (300 dpi) versions of each page, email me if you're interested.

PPPS: click on a thumbnail image in a post to see a full size version (72dpi)

COVER

BACK

=====================
Das Grosse VW-Porsche Buch tells, for the first time, the complete and remarkable story of this unique Sportscar.
The VW-Porsche 914 was presented to the public in 1969. And not only the Chassis was a departure from the traditional Porsche Sportscar design. The 914 was based on the mid-engine layout. It was supposed to combine the genius of the Porsche Engineers with affordable Mass-Production Technology. The Child of the David and Goliath of the german automobile industrie stirred up a lot of emotions and was either passionately loved or all out hated.
The Car-Journalist Michael von Klodt has collected all Facts and Pictures of the development of the 914, many unknown to date, as well as information about the teamwork of Porsche and VW.
Furthermore: The racing history, Prototypes and Custom Builds using the 914 as a base, everything worth knowing about Clubs, the Market and much more.
=====================

PAGE 23

=========================
There's a lot of talk and Rumors


The History of the Design of the 914 has often been connected to the Designer Hans Gugelot.
The Source for the worldwide spread of this mis-information is, in retrospect, the Porsche "Bible",
Karl Ludvigsens book "Porsche - Geschichte und Technik der Renn- und Sportwagen".

Quote from his Book:
"How did a car have to look like that on one hand had to fit into the VW Model-Line and
at the same time had to have the signature touch of Ferry Porsche.
For marketing reasons the car had to be different from the current Porsche Model-Line.
There was no intention to simply copy an existing design ... to solve this without bias,
it was decided to outsource the design to the company Gugelot."

Inquiries with the Porsche Factory, personal talks with Ferinand Alexander Porsche, the head
of the Porsche Design Studios at the time as well as talks with employees of the Gugelot Company
did, however, not verify Ludvigsens theory. Gugelot was never commissioned with the Design of
the 914. Furthermore, Porsche did not use the Gugelot-Auto as the base or template of their own Design.

Ferdinand Alexander Porsche:
"Gugelot never did anything to the Car! They had a car that had a few similarities with the 914,
that's all. The most one could do is to point out those similarities, but Gugelot had nothing to do with the Car.
It's always the same, there's a lot of talk and rumors, like when people say that my grandfather once worked for Renault ..."

Some Background:
In the early 60s, Gugelot together with the Bayer-Werke designed a plastic car that was based on a BMW.
Like the 914, this car separated itself from others through it's clear-cut lines. The car pictured in
Ludvigsens "Bible" and wrongly labeled the "Gugelot-Auto" was in fact a one-off prototype that never
made production. In addition, quite a few other Car designs of that area show similarities to the
Gugelot-Car and the 914, like the pictured Fiat 2300 with a Chassis Design by Pinifarina.

The Myth of Gugelots involvement in the Design of the 914 is especially wide-spread in the American
Literature. David Coleman for example claims that Gugelots "stark" design was influenced by Braun's
Toasters of the same Era ..."
=========================

You are my Hero Andy....

More than a hero - you border on god-like! OK, who's going to step up for Excellence Was Expected?

I have a copy of the book and its a major headache to read a page with my broken German.

Just translate the pages Andy.

I am sinking, since so many 914s came to the US, that this book would be published also in English. When was this book first published, and does anyone know if a second (English) edition may be forthcoming? I've tried to wade through a German edition of my family's history, and it's so difficult that I have to content myself with just looking at the pictures
This book looks as if it would be a "must have" for any 914 enthusiast

Thank you Andy for doing this!
I'm looking forward to reading it & learning a bunch of things.

Translating DGVWPB ? what a good idea ...

Why shouldn't this book translated in english ?
USA was the main market for the 914 afterall.
Why shouldn't we suggest to HEEL Verlag to make an english print of this book.
As the german original is almost impossible to find, I am sure they could sell a few 1000 of this book all over the world.

Is there any member involved in book selling ?

Hey Andy.....

I know you've been preoccupied ith things like health & a 914 or two, but is this thing going forward sometime?
Pat

it's going slow right now, probably be able to dive into it again when the rain starts ...
Andy

At your liesure mein friend! Hopefully, no more of us are going anywhere for a while! God, I hate ageing! Friends go & friends stay (thankfully). Hope we're all here for a lot longer. I'm from Kraut stock (if that offends anyone, tough sh_t!) Three generations over a hundred, so you are stuck with my sarcastic mouth!

Time for another page, Andy.

aye ...

time to warm up the new scanner!
Andy

I sent Jeroen about 70 pages, but never heard if they even arrived. That was about 4 years ago.

70 pages from the Book? I'll ask him if he received them..

Photocopies of the first 70 pages. Tricky to photocopy those pages due to the large format size of the buch. Copy, scan, OCR, and correct. I did a few, but the correction step was difficult due to the technical jargon that would not translate.

i tried that and had the same problem. it's much faster for me to just read the german text and type the english translation as i go ...

i just need to find some free time. anybody seen some? if so, send it my way ...
Andy

You rawk Andy!!!

Last I saw some it was back about 1966, and it was fading into the distance at high speed, about 0.96 c.